Poisonous Desires
by carolinepierce
Summary: What starts out as a complicated relationship quickly takes a turn for the worse when someone finds out about the secret relationship between student and professor. Someone is doing their best to make sure the relationship ends in the most painful way possible. Caroline and Klaus have to battle betrayal, blackmail and blood and there's no saying if they'll make it out alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Another Klaroline fic? What about Dangers of Deception? Are you really going to get yourself started on another one? Well if you want to be that stupid, go ahead.**

**If that's what you're thinking right now I don't really have a good counter argument against any of it. I just couldn't stop myself from writing this. It practically wrote itself. I don't own TVD!**

Caroline Forbes twirled the half empty glass of rum and coke in front of her. She was still trying to figure out how she had ended up sitting alone at the bar instead of having the girl's night out with her two best friends that she had been promised.

It wasn't that difficult, actually.

Elena had called her up about two hours ago and pretty much begged her to go out for drinks with her and Bonnie. Caroline was never one to say no to drinks and girl talk so she had happily accepted. She had met up with Bonnie and Elena at the local bar. Before Caroline had even started on her first drink Elena had broken the news. Or – as Caroline now thought of it – the real reason why she had wanted to hang out.

_"I have to tell you guys something," Elena said. She looked like a puppy that had just been caught chewing on a shoe for some reason. "I'm seeing someone," she revealed and bit her bottom lip._

_Caroline's mouth fell open in surprise. Bonnie managed to hide the surprise a little bit better and only raised her eyebrows slightly. _

_"What?" Caroline exclaimed. "That's not possible!"_

_The three of them were best friends. They knew everything about each other. Even though they had only known each other for three years it might as well have been a lifetime. They spent all their time together and the minute they had anything important to share they called each other to prattle on about it for hours. If Elena was seeing someone Caroline would have known the second Elena laid eyes on him. _Should_ have known._

_"How come we're only hearing about this now?" Bonnie asked but she sounded excited._

_Caroline refrained from huffing loudly. Okay, if Bonnie was going to be all smiles and hand clapping about this she was probably meant to do the same thing. She could be petty and pout about Elena not sharing the news until now later._

_"Tell us everything," Caroline brought her drink closer and took a sip. It happened to be a big mistake because that's when Elena decided to spill the beans which caused Caroline to spit out the liquid in surprise._

_"It's Damon."_

"Ugh," Caroline said out loud as the thoughts came back to her. She took a long gulp of her drink and gave a silent thank you to the man upstairs for inventing alcohol.

The bar was almost empty tonight. The Virginia small town was usually crowded with Whitmore College students but since there was still a week left of summer vacation there weren't a lot of people around to throw money on drinks. It was probably a good thing too. Caroline didn't put it past herself to get drunk and badmouth her friend for dating the living, breathing scum that was Damon Salvatore to the first best person that knew who the people concerned were.

Caroline took another sip of her drink and looked around. Two of the boots were occupied and two older men were sitting by the window in silence. There was only one other person sitting by the bar. Caroline was surprised she hadn't noticed him before. Not only was he _really hot _but he was also nursing a glass of bourbon while reading a book. Who the hell came to a bar to read a book? Was that the moment when a person had gone too far for AA meetings to help?

In a not so subtle way Caroline leaned forward and tilted her head to the side to get a look at the cover of his book. Her chin almost dropped through the bar when she saw the title. So he was a Dickens man. Caroline had never actually admitted to anyone that _A Christmas Carol_ was her favorite book ever. When Christmas started rolling around Caroline would get her old copy out and read it over and over again until everyone had packed away their decorations and thrown away their Christmas trees. Sometimes when she felt especially nostalgic or homesick she would curl up in bed and read the famous Dickens novel no matter what time of year it was.

Since the man seemed unaware that she was blatantly staring at him Caroline continued to do so. He had to be older than her, she decided, at least by a few years. The light brown locks that crowned his head were cut short and neat but the five o'clock stubble on his well-defined jaw ruined the otherwise completely put together look he had going for him. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a tie that was slightly loose around the neck. Caroline had always loved a man in a tie.

All of the sudden the older guy got out of his seat. He pushed the barstool back into place after getting up and closed his book. He didn't glance Caroline's way once when he started walking her way. The stranger finally came to a stop next to her. Caroline's breath was caught in her throat and she was sure her heart had jumped up there too. She stubbornly stared straight forward, refusing to acknowledge him now that he was right next to her.

"You know love…" he finally spoke and Caroline inwardly groaned at the sound of his accent. Of course he had a British accent. It wasn't enough for him to be ridiculously good looking and share the love of the same author as her. Oh no. He had to have the most charming accents of them all on top of that. Caroline slowly turned around to face him and found that he was staring at her. Twinkling blue eyes met hers. "It's rude to stare," he finished with a smirk tugging at his lips revealing two perfect dimples.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. Even if he _was _a hot British guy with dimples and a Dickens novel tucked under his arm that gave him no right to be a self-assured idiot. She wasn't in the mood for that tonight since she was already thinking about one specific self-assured idiot that her best friend was now screwing.

"I wasn't staring," Caroline lied blatantly. She had never been a good liar but the alcohol and anger she was filled with helped make it sound believable. "Maybe you're just a little too pompous," she added, mentally patting herself on the back for finding a way to use the word of the day from her nifty little calendar.

Her harsh words only seemed to amuse the man because the smirk widened and his eyes gleamed. There was a bad news vibe about him that was practically screaming at Caroline to run for the doors. But there was also something that made Caroline remain glued to her seat in anticipation of what would happen next.

"I'm quite sure you were actually," there was repressed laughter behind his words which made Caroline's cheeks turn red. He was laughing at her! He was actually making fun of her right to her face!

"I wasn't staring at _you_," Caroline shot at him and put as much venom as possible into the last word. "I was staring at your book. No offense, but you're not exactly Dickens," she huffed.

For a moment he actually looked taken aback. Caroline's words seemed to have genuinely surprised him but he quickly went back to the smug idiot look he had been playing poster boy for before. God, he was annoying. Why couldn't he just be ugly and speak English in a way that did not make her squirm in her seat in the best way possible?

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a Dickens fan," he told her honestly. Without asking he pulled out the stool next to her and sat down. "What do you like about him?"

Caroline was ready to shoot an aggressive insult at him but was left with her mouth half open when she realized he had just asked her a friendly question. She couldn't exactly ask him to crawl his way to hell and tell the devil she said hi for asking what she liked about her favorite author.

"His characters," Caroline found herself saying instead. "I like his characters. Especially Ebenezer Scrooge. He's just so full of… hope," she left the last word hanging in the air, not sure how to explain what exactly she meant by that. Whenever a guy sat down next to her at a bar they didn't usually ask for her thoughts on literature. It was a pretty nice change, actually.

"I have to disagree," the man said. "Scrooge is just a sour old man who gets help from the right people – or ghosts, I suppose – which changes his life for the better. He would never have gotten out of that old rut he called life on his own."

"Well, you can't do everything on your own!" Caroline argued. "You wouldn't understand anyways. You're a man. Man can't accept help from anyone," Caroline had to stop herself from sticking out her tongue at him. The argument was childish enough as it was.

A throaty chuckled escaped him and it sent shivers down Caroline's spine. God, he had a nice laugh.

"Maybe I don't _need _help. There's a difference."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're too cocky?" Caroline asked in an overly sweet voice with her head tilted to the side.

"Yes. But I've also been told that it's quite charming," he replied without missing a beat.

"Well, I happen to disagree," Caroline shot back. She was doing her best to keep the smile on her face in check but it wasn't working very well. She was enjoying this easy going banter way too much.

"Are you sure about that sweetheart?" he had leaned forward while speaking and his face was so close to hers she could feel his breath against her skin. For a moment Caroline almost forgot where she was and what she was doing. His close proximity was making her dizzy and his tie looked perfect to hold onto. She wouldn't want to fall over after all.

"Yes. I am," she defended herself instead of grabbing onto his tie and pulling him even closer than he already was. "Why are you even reading a book at a bar? Isn't that what libraries are for?" banter was safer than staring into his dreamy eyes she decided. As long as she kept up a good string of insults she would be fine.

"I just moved in to one of the apartments across the street. My furniture is being delivered at the moment so I figured I'd get out of the way and enjoy a drink in the meantime. The book was just for company," he explained. He seemed thoroughly amused by this whole exchange if that smirk of his was a reliable source.

"Don't you have a girlfriend to keep you company?" the words just slipped out. She hadn't meant to say it. Honestly. She hadn't meant to go for the pathetic, swoony teenager thing she was currently pulling off so well.

"No. No girlfriend," he drawled slowly and his dimples actually deepened slightly. Was he laughing at her again? "Now why is a beautiful woman like yourself drinking alone?" Caroline scoffed at the obvious line but decided not to scold him on it. Instead, she offered him the sad truth.

"My friends ditched me."

_"You're dating DAMON?" Caroline hisses without bothering to hide the anger in her voice._

_Elena didn't answer and avoided meeting Caroline's glare. Bonnie looked like she was considering cutting in before it got too out of hand but Caroline didn't give her a chance to do so._

_"What are you even thinking Elena?" Caroline demanded._

_"Look Care, I know you're upset. I get that he was your ex and –" Caroline didn't listen to the rest of Elena's sentence. She had just realized something she had forgotten in the anger and surprise._

_The only thing Elena and Bonnie knew of the on and off again romance between Caroline and Damon was that it had ended badly. Caroline had come crying to the two girls and they had spent the entire weekend watching old chick flicks and eating ice cream. But Caroline never actually told them what happened and since their relationship was always on shaky grounds her two friends hadn't made much of an effort to find out what it was. They had just figured it had been something along the lines of Caroline's ordinary neurotic control freak tendencies getting out in the way and had left it alone when she said she didn't want to talk about it._

_The truth was a lot worse than that. But Caroline had kept quiet about it. She had promised Damon she wouldn't tell anyone and for some reason she didn't really understand herself she had kept that promise. Elena just thought Caroline didn't want her to be with Damon because it was her ex when the truth had nothing to do with that._

_"Why him?" Caroline tried to calm herself down. She had to make Elena understand that Damon wasn't a good guy. Even if she couldn't straight out tell her what had happened she had to make her understand. "You know you can do better, right? I mean I know that he's hot but he can be such an ass and he never changes his socks," Caroline lied, fishing in the air for reasons why Elena shouldn't be with Damon; other than the fact that he was a sociopathic narcissist._

_Elena and Bonnie sighed at the exact same moment and exchanged a look that Caroline clearly wasn't supposed to have seen._

_"Well I'm happy for you," Bonnie defended Elena and Caroline rolled her eyes._

_"Thank you Bonnie," Caroline wanted to roll them again when Elena squeezed Bonnie's hand. God. Were they going to preschool her into apologizing now? "I just wanted to tell you guys in person. I really like him and I don't know it… it feels real," Elena's face was shining and it was impossible to deny how happy she looked. Caroline didn't think she had seen her friend that happy about a guy before._

_Caroline pursed her lips into a thin line. She wanted to tell Elena every lie she could think of that would make her dump Damon's sorry ass. She was itching to spill the truth too. She wanted her friends to know the real reason she didn't want Elena to be with Damon. She knew that if she did they wouldn't call each other later to discuss how selfish she was being for not getting a Team Elena + Damon t-shirt. But the thought of being the one to ruin Elena's newfound happiness almost killed Caroline. The girl had been through so much and if she was finally happy… well, Caroline didn't want to ruin that._

_"Fine," she finally spat. It didn't sound nearly as sincere as she had been going for. "I give you my blessing. I guess that's why you asked to hang out tonight, right?" so she was still being a bitch. But at least she wasn't trying to convince Elena to dump the definition of the word douchebag anymore. Progress was always progress, no matter how small the steps were._

_"You know what Caroline," Elena began angrily. "I wanted to tell you this because you're one of my best friends and I'm happy. I was hoping to share my happiness with you. But since you're obviously just going to be a bitch tonight I might as well leave!" with that she got out of her seat and stormed out of the bar._

_Carline and Bonnie exchanged a quick look but Caroline already knew what was coming. Bonnie barely had a chance to utter the word 'sorry' before Caroline interrupted her._

_"Yeah whatever," Caroline sighed. "Go make sure she's okay."_

_Bonnie gave Caroline a small smile before running after Elena._

"I'm fine though," Caroline promised after having finished telling him about how she got ditched at a bar by her so called best friends. "I'm used to it. About it always being about Elena. She's the center of the universe according to pretty much everyone," Caroline had been drinking too much to feel ashamed of her ramblings. It had been a while since she let herself feel sorry about everyone kissing the ground Elena walked on even if it meant pushing Caroline out of the way to do so.

"I don't see what's so special about this Elena girl," he brought the glass to his lips and took a long swig. Caroline's eyes were glued to his lips when he licked away some remaining liquid from them. Was he doing that on purpose? He had to be. "I've always preferred blondes anyways."

She wasn't sure what prodded her to do it. Maybe it was the alcohol in her system. Maybe it was his moist lips so very close to her. Maybe it was because he was saying she was better than the girl Caroline couldn't keep herself from being jealous of. Maybe it was a mixture of all of it. But for some reason Caroline closed the final space between them and pressed her lips against his.

The kiss wasn't soft or romantic in any way. Their lips moved frantically against each other and they nipped and sucked at every chance they got. His hand found its way to the back of her neck and pushed her closer to him. The legs of her stool scraped against the floor when it moved with her and Caroline giggled against his lips. His tongue took the chance to gain entrance to her mouth and Caroline gladly accepted.

Their tongues dueled for dominance. It was a frantic, heavy game and Caroline refused to give up. She put her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Every fiber of her body was on fire and she wanted more. She wanted to feel his body pressed up against hers. She wanted him to suck so hard on her breasts it left marks. She wanted to feel him hard against her.

Caroline pulled away from him. A barely audible growl left him when she broke the contact and Caroline smiled. Her arms were still around his neck and she was already out of breath.

"I forgot to ask… what's your name?" she bit her lower lip to keep from laughing.

"Klaus," he told her and she could almost see the impatience surrounding him.

"I'm Caroline," she said in an overly chipper voice. Then she leaned forward so that her lips were right next to his ear. "And I believe you have an apartment close by?" she whispered seductively. The tip of her tongue graced his earlobe for a moment before she pulled back.

The smirk on Klaus' lips was devilish. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the stool.

"Let's get going."

**Now this is mostly just a little introduction. You know, say hi to the characters and watch them make-out kind of thing. A few quick pointers:**

**1. Caroline is twenty years old and a Junior in College. If you're wondering why she's able to drink at a bar you're with Klaus and will get that question answered next chapter.**

**2. Hopefully they're done moving in furniture by the time they get to Klaus' apartment because he will kick them out if they're still there.**

**3. This story is AU/AH and a teacher/student romance but it will have a lot of dark themes in it and isn't just about the romance. Be prepared!**


	2. Chapter 2

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, _oh no_.

The all too familiar feelings of guilt and shame rolled over Caroline the moment her eyes opened. She was lying on top of an air mattress with a blanket tangled at her feet. The man from last night, Klaus, was lying next to her and she had to mentally slap herself back to reality at the sight of his bare chest.

All of her memories from the previous night were coming back to her. She hadn't had enough to drink for there to be any actual blackouts which she thanked every god she knew of for. Caroline groaned inwardly. She had acted like a stupid little girl last night. She couldn't even blame it on the alcohol because all it had done was give her a push in the right - no, the wrong, she reminded herself - direction. A few compliments and some teasing banter was all it had taken for her to jump into bed with a man she had never met before.

No, jump on an air mattress that made _a lot_ of noise with two people grinding on top of it. Caroline couldn't help herself from giggling at the thought of what Klaus' new neighbors must think of him.

She let her eyes drift to the body next to hers for a moment. He was still very much asleep, thank god. His hair was tousled in the most charming way possible and his chest moved up and down along his heavy breathing. He looked so innocent while sleeping, Caroline noted. Nothing like the cocky but charming guy she had met at the bar. Definitely nothing like the beast he had been in bed. The thought actually made her blush.

The sex had been great, there was no denying that. Caroline had had sex before, of course. In High School she had dated Tyler Lockwood and lost her virginity to him. She didn't have anything to compare the sex with at that time and it wasn't until they broke up and she got went to college that she realized there was actually more to it than a quickie before football games. She had a few dates and too many one night stands after that and got the hang of the game a little better. Then she met Damon. He was something else. Older, darker, mysterious. As much as she detested him she had to admit that the sex had been good. Really good.

But really good had nothing on what she experienced last night.

Ugh. This time Caroline groaned out loud. As quietly as she could she rolled off the mattress and hit the floor with a slight thud. She quickly got up and grabbed her clothes that were scattered across the floor. With one last look at Klaus she snuck out of his bedroom.

When she was in the other room she pulled last night's outfit on. Her shirt was a wrinkled from spending the night on the floor but it would have to do. The real problem was her hair. There were no mirrors in the apartment since none of the boxes were unpacked yet but Caroline could tell that she had a bad case of just fucked hair. She tried to run her hand through it to make it look better but wasn't sure she succeeded much.

"Whatever," Caroline muttered into thin air. Trying not to make any noise she picked went into the hallway. She quickly pulled her heels on, wishing she had been wearing something a little less showy last night, and picked up her purse from where she had dropped it. Without looking back (but definitely not without thinking about the man she was leaving behind) she left the apartment.

Caroline breathed out a sigh of relief when the door closed behind her. She hated sneaking out like this but it was better than having to endure the awkwardness that always took place after something like this. She really wasn't in the mood for the awkward 'hi we fucked now what was your name again?' conversation they'd have to have if she stayed until he woke up.

She left the building, her mind still foggy with thoughts from last night. Normally she just tried to forget about these kind of things. But normally these kind of things involved her waking up next to some frat guy who didn't remember her name. Klaus wasn't that though. She wasn't sure what he was, actually.

Infuriating, yes. Cocky, yes. Handsome, _definitely_. But he was charming too. Caroline hated to admit it. She had been the girl who fell for the bad boy with a big ego before and had vowed never to become that girl again. She was supposed to be able to see right through their lies and silly compliments. When they tried to be funny and cute she was supposed to flick her hair over her shoulder and walk away. But she hadn't done that with Klaus. She had slept with him instead. That didn't really send the same message.

Caroline shook her head. People were throwing her odd glances as she walked down the street and she could just _feel _them judging her. Everything about her ruffled outfit to her high heels were screaming walk of shame. She came to a stop outside her favorite diner in town. _Rose's_ had the best burgers Caroline had ever tasted and there was no better way to start a day like this than with a shitload of carbs. With a small smile she pushed the door open.

Her presence was announced by the sound of a bell at the back of the diner. Eyes glanced up from their meals and newspapers to see who the newcomer was but quickly returned to what they had been doing. Caroline breathed out a sigh of relief that no one she knew was there. She was especially glad she didn't have to deal with Bonnie or Elena at the moment.

"Hello there," Rose's British accent greeted Caroline from behind the counter. Right. Caroline had forgotten that the owner of the diner was British. She pushed the thought of a much darker voice tainted with the same accent whispering in her ear while unclasping her bra.

Oh god now she was thinking about his hands on her – no. She was not going to do that. Caroline took a deep breath and forced herself to smile at the brunette.

"Hi," she replied in an overly chipper tone. "I'll have a burger with extra cheese and fries on the side, please. And a cup of coffee," she ordered. She wondered what Klaus would do in the morning without a coffee machine. Or any other kitchen utensils. Everything was boxed up. Not that it mattered, she reminded herself. Not that she cared.

"Alright dear. I'll get that sorted. Feel free to sit wherever you'd like," Rose made a swishing movement with her hand, showing off Caroline had a lot of options to choose from and disappeared into the kitchen.

Deciding to be nice and not hog a booth when she was eating by herself she sat down at a one-man table. Since she had already ordered there wasn't a lot to do until the food came so she pulled her phone out of her purse, ready to get it on with Angry Birds. There was a missed call from her mother (Caroline rolled her eyes. Now and then her mom would call and pretend that she knew what being a mother meant. Those calls were usually made up of awkward silences and Caroline avoiding answering any questions about her private life) and a text message from Elena. Caroline considered ignoring it but curiosity got the best of her.

_I'm sorry about last night. Friends?_

Typical Elena, Caroline noted. The girl couldn't stand being in a fight with anyone. She was too nice to be able to stand the thought of anyone being mad at her. Caroline on the other hand was _very _good at holding grudges and had spent four years being a raging bitch to everyone at her school. As the queen bee she had made more than a few enemies. But Elena was her friend and although Caroline was still pissed about last night she wanted them to make up. She still wasn't okay with the thought of Damon and Elena – she didn't think she ever could be – but that was a problem to be tackled later. She'd find a way to make Elena realize how wrong Damon was for her without breaking her promise to the bastard himself.

_I'm sorry too. Friends._

She sent the text to Elena with a small smile. Sometimes Caroline really wanted to wring the girl's neck but most of the time she loved her.

"Burger, fries and a coffee!" one of the waitresses announced and placed Caroline's food and drink in front of her. "Enjoy!"

Without a second to spare Caroline dug into the burger. She wasn't exactly showing off her good graces and prom queen etiquettes by devouring the burger like she hadn't seen food for a month but she couldn't bring herself to care.

A low chuckle brought her out of her food daze and she looked up. Her mouth fell open to reveal the chewed food and she quickly snapped it shut. This only caused Klaus to laugh again.

Caroline reached for the coffee and took a long gulp to swallow the food. It was burning hot and caused her to lose her breath.

"Oh fuck," she wheezed. "Hot," she managed to get out in answer to Klaus' raised eyebrows.

"Charming," he drawled with a slight smirk on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline demanded as soon as she was able to talk again. She put the cup of coffee down on the table with a little too much force and some of its content spilled onto the table. "Are you stalking me?" she added nervously. Just because he was good looking didn't mean he wasn't crazy.

Klaus snorted.

"No, I am not stalking you. I live nearby although you already know that, of course," his words made Caroline's cheeks flush and his smirk widened. "If you want I could turn around and close my eyes so you can sneak out."

"I didn't – I wasn't," Caroline quickly realized she didn't have much of a comeback. She had snuck out. "I just figured you weren't the cuddling type," she finally said.

"You were right. I despise cuddling," he told her. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked but before Caroline had a chance to answer he had pulled up a chair opposite of her. The smirk on his lips was still very much present.

"No, go ahead," Caroline said sarcastically. He was already leaning back with a pleased look on his face.

"Now tell me, why did you feel the need to leave me on my air mattress all alone? I would ask if last night wasn't pleasing for you but the way you screamed my name answers that for me, don't you think?" once again Caroline's face turned a bright shade of red. He seemed to enjoy it too because his lips twitched. God, he was annoying.

"Lower your voice, will you?" she snapped. "If I recall you had a pretty good time yourself!"

"I never said I didn't, love."

The silence hung in the air between them and Caroline knew he was waiting for an answer. Finally, she gave in. She hated silences. No, she _detested_ them.

"I left because I was embarrassed, okay? I don't usually do one night stands," that part wasn't entirely true but she didn't have to tell him that. "I didn't exactly mean to end up sleeping with some random guy at the bar so I figured I should just pretend it didn't happen. But clearly, you're not going to let me do that."

For a moment he just looked at her then he reached forward and grabbed one of her fries. Caroline's mouth fell open in annoyance and she tried to swat his hand but he was too fast for her. He popped the French fry into his mouth and chewed slowly.

"You can't just steal my fries!" Caroline protested. "That's a crime. I could have you arrested," she huffed irritably. So she was possessive about her food, sue her.

"I just did sweetheart," he teased and before she had a chance to react he took another one.

Caroline couldn't help herself. She laughed. And to her surprise he joined in. Finally, she gave in and pushed the plate closer to him.

"I guess we can share," she sighed but there was a smile on her lips all the same.

...

The laughing pair was too busy to notice that they were being watched. The person watching them was standing outside the diner, concealed by a dark hoodie. Their eyes were formed into slits as they watched them laugh and smile at each other. It was like stabs to the heart. The only consolation, the only thing that made it bearable, was knowing that it would soon come to an end.

A brutal, painful ending along the lines of a dead body at the bottom of a lake.

**It took me a while to write this chapter because I re-wrote it like ... a billion times. Yeah. So at the end you get a little look at the little mystery that will be a big part of this story. The person described will be written as 'they' so not to give away an identity. That would be too easy! Next chapter will be up soon and I appreciate any and all feedback! If you want to follow me on tumblr it's carolinepierce.**


	3. Chapter 3

"I give up!" Caroline declared loudly.

She was standing in the Bonnie and Elena's living room where she had been sleeping for the last few days. Her roommate Vicki Donovan had gotten into some kind of trouble with the cops and her parents had shipped her off to rehab. While Caroline was all for the girl getting help (she couldn't count the number of times she had caught Vicki doing lines on the kitchen counter or throwing up in the bathroom at four am) it had left her in a pretty sticky situation. Without Vicki there was no way she could pay the rent for their apartment which left her homeless. There was no way she was going back to the stinky, busy dorms either. She was a junior for god's sake she wasn't going to spend this year in sleeping in a bunk bed.

Luckily, Bonnie and Elena had taken her in. They shared an apartment big enough for a third person and while Caroline only had the couch to sleep on she had no complaints. Well, almost none. Sometimes Bonnie hogged the curling iron way in an almost possessive way and Elena showered even longer than Caroline did. But other than that and the lack of chips they kept around the new house arrangement was great.

"What's wrong, Care?" Bonnie's tired but amused voice rang from the kitchen. A moment later she appeared in the living-room with a cup of coffee.

"I can't find anything to wear," Caroline whined. Her clothes were strewn across the floor and she couldn't even be bothered to worry that her friends were going to be mad about it. Today was the first day of term and Caroline was still very much in the mindset that a girl had to look good for those days.

"That one's cute," Bonnie offered and pointed at a pink top lying on the ground next to a yellow sundress.

Caroline scrunched her nose at the top and shook her head.

"I'll have to wear my tan boots with it and they only go with the pants I forgot at home," Caroline explained. She knew all of this made her seem and sound incredibly shallow but her best friends knew her well enough not to judge. Sometimes she did act like she was hoping to run for Miss Universe but she figured it didn't mean much in the big picture. "Besides, it's like a hundred degrees outside. If there's ever a good reason to show off some legs, this is it."

Bonnie just shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.

"Good morning guys," Elena greeted happily. She was dressed in a fluffy bathrobe and drying her hair with a towel. "You should wear that," Elena said, nodding towards a simple but cute white sundress.

Caroline picked the dress off the floor and held it up to her body. After a moment of silent debating she slipped it on. She put a belt on around her waist and pulled on her favorite denim jacket.

"Okay then!" Caroline spun around in front of her friend. "Is it first day approved?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and Elena laughed but both of them nodded.

"You look great," Elena promised.

"But this isn't middle school, Care," Bonnie said. "You don't have to dress up for your first day."

"I refuse to be one of those college girls who live in my sweatpants," Caroline explained.

"So it has nothing to do with that mysterious guy you've been hoping to run into?" Elena asked with a sly smile.

Caroline felt her cheeks turn hot.

"Who knows? Maybe Mr. Mysterious will be in your English Lit class," Bonnie teased.

"Not likely," Caroline sighed. "I haven't seen him since he ate all my fries and that was almost a week ago."

As much as she hated to admit it Caroline had been hoping she'd have a third meeting with Klaus. They had spent a good two hours talking and by the time he left her food had been cold. But it had been nice. They had been having fun. It wasn't until after he left that she realized they hadn't exchanged numbers. She hadn't seen him since then.

"Well you're bound to run into each other sooner or later," Bonnie reasoned. "It's a small town."

Caroline shrugged in a way that told them she didn't care whether she did or not. The truth was she was longing to see Klaus in a way that surprised even her. She had always been big on romance who had the tendency to fall for the wrong guys but she had never felt such a connection to someone she had only met twice. She couldn't even describe it to herself because whenever she thought of describing him with words all she could think of was 'jerk' and 'annoying'. But she still desperately wanted to see him again.

…

A pile of papers stood neatly organized on his desk and the board behind him was clean of any smudges or marks. Most teachers preferred power points or pdf's these days but Klaus was old fashioned. He liked to write on boards with chalk and have his students read from textbooks rather than off a computer screen. Most people thought it made him boring and other professors tended to raise their eyebrows at his ways of doing things but Klaus didn't care. When had he ever cared what others thought about him?

He was standing behind the desk in the classroom he would hold his first English class in. It was only his second teaching job and this college was a lot smaller than the past one. His old job had consisted of giving never ending seminars to a never ending number of students in a never ending room of desks. It had been impersonal and he was certain he hadn't left much of a mark on anyone. He had graded papers without learning who had written what and handed out grades to what could have been strangers. Since Klaus was what his family would call a lone wolf you'd think he preferred it that way. But the truth was the only time Klaus ever wanted to connect with anyone or make a lasting impression beyond being a douchebag was when he taught.

He wanted everyone to remember Shakespeare after they left his classroom. He wanted his students to go to the library and pick out a Charles Dickens book even though they didn't have to. He wanted to make people love the subject the way he did. And love the subject he did. In fact, it was the only thing he loved unconditionally and without a doubt.

Literature never let him down.

Klaus tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk. The class would start in ten minutes. He wasn't nervous. No, Klaus didn't do nervous. He was good – better than good, _fantastic_ – at what he did and he knew it. The reason he was so on edge was something he would rather not admit.

But he couldn't not admit it because it was all he ever thought about. _Her_. Caroline. The girl he had met about a week ago and hadn't gotten out of his mind since. It wasn't even the sex that was causing him to dream about her at night. The sex had been bloody brilliant and all but there was more to it than that. And Klaus did not want there to be more. There was never more for him. And the fact that the bubbly blonde who had left him to wake up alone in the morning was so much more bothered him.

When he found her sitting at that diner he hadn't expected to spend two whole hours chatting easily with her like they had known each other forever. He had looked up at the clock and realized how long he had been there and made up a lousy excuse to get out of there. He wasn't the kind of man who had lunch with his one night stands. He wasn't the kind of man who enjoyed talking to them in such a friendly manner. He wasn't the kind of man who lost track of time because the woman in front of him made him forget where he was.

So he had sprinted out of there and decided to forget about her. Sadly, that was easier said than done.

There was something about her that made him want to see her again. But he wasn't going to give in and look through the phone book and call up every Caroline that lived in town. That would be ridiculous even though the thought had crossed his mind. He would just force himself to forget about her.

The door to the classroom opened and students began spilling in. Klaus turned around towards the board and began writing his name on it. Mr. Mikaelson. His lips twitched to form a smirk. He always enjoyed being called mister. While most people didn't find teaching to be much of a power job Klaus argued otherwise. He had students looking up to him and following his every command while calling him by his title. He had a chance to shape their minds into whatever he wanted. If that wasn't power then he didn't know what was.

When the sound of scraping chairs and chatter had died out Klaus turned around. There couldn't be more than twenty-five people in the classroom and his eyes scanned the rows quickly. That's when he saw her.

She was sitting in the middle row next to a blonde young man who she was whispering with. Klaus' eyes turned to slits and his lips formed a thin line. He could feel the anger he was so known for building up within him but tried to push it away. He couldn't go on a screaming rampage right now. He'd have to save that for later.

"Good morning, class," he drawled loudly, his eyes never leaving her.

The shock on her face was evident and her head snapped around to face him. His lips curled into a smirk when he saw her eyes widen and her mouth fall open. He tried not to think about that mouth wrapped around his cock. The guy next to her put a hand on her shoulder and leaned closer to whisper something in her ear. Caroline just shook her head. Klaus kept himself from snarling. Rage was still bubbling at the surface but he wasn't sure whether it was at her or the _boy_ with his hand on her.

"I am Mr. Mikaelson," he continued in a loud, booming voice. His eyes were still glued to her now fidgeting frame. "Today we'll be discussing Dickens."

…

Since the moment Caroline had looked up and found Klaus staring at her from the front of the classroom she had been going through every terrible thing she had ever done. She was wondering if this was a punishment for the time she didn't let Dana Smith on the Cheerleading squad because she was too pretty or maybe because of her constant jealousy of Elena. Wasn't envy one of the seven sins?

Obviously she had done something pretty terrible in this or a past life to deserve this. Caroline chewed nervously on her bottom-lip. Stefan was sitting next to her and kept throwing her worried glances. She probably looked like she had just seen a ghost. Well, she might as well have.

Why hadn't he told her he was a teacher? She hadn't told him she was a student but she had figured that went without saying. This was primarily a college town, after all.

At the beginning of class his eyes had been solely focused on hers. She had been wondering if the cold blue eyes could burn a hole through her skull because it sure as hell felt like it. The way he looked at her made it seem like he was about to snap her neck when class was over.

Then, after telling the class they would be discussing Dickens (was he doing that on purpose? He had to be!), he had simply started acting like she did not exist. His eyes didn't find her once. She kept staring at him, hoping to convey some silent message through eye-contact but he made that impossible by not looking at her once.

Caroline snapped her notebook shut. It was absolutely impossible to take notes or even concentrate when all she could think about was what her teacher looked like naked. The worst part was that it wasn't just dirty fantasies. No, she knew what he looked like without any clothes on. She had seen it with her own eyes after all.

"Are you okay, Care?" Stefan whispered for the hundredth time.

Caroline forced herself to smile at her friend.

"Yeah, just restless," she lied.

She was not just restless and she was definitely not okay.

She had thought things were bad enough when he didn't call or make an effort to see her again. That had been enough for her to want to curl up in front of a chick flick with a carton of Ben and Jerry's best ice-cream. This was just the cherry on top of her miserable life.

The only thing that could make things worse was if she found out he was married. Oh god. He wasn't, was he?

Finally, an hour and a half later, _Mr. Mikaelson_ finished his lecture. Caroline didn't listen when he said what books they would need to buy and what they'd have to read until the next time. She tapped her foot impatiently against the floor while waiting for everyone to leave. She had to talk to him. As much as she wanted to run through the door and pretend this hadn't happened she knew she had to be mature about this.

"You coming, Care?" Stefan asked with a smile.

"I just have to ask Mr. Mikaelson something," she said and the smile on her face felt forced. "Go ahead; I'll catch up with you later."

Stefan shrugged but did as he was told. That was the good thing about Matt. He was nice enough to care but knew when it was best to leave things alone. In other words, he was nothing like Caroline herself.

Caroline nervously licked her lips. To soon the room was completely empty except for the two of them. She was about to clear her throat to let him know she was there when he spoke.

"Caroline," he drawled slowly and somehow the way he said her name made her want to cry. He turned around and the look on his face didn't make things better. She had expected the indifferent, cold expression that had been plastered on his face like a mask all class. Instead all she saw was fury. "You didn't think to tell me you were a student, did you?" he snapped. It looked as if he was trying to control his anger because his fists hands were curled into fists and his jaw was clenched. Apparently he wasn't succeeding. "I do not enjoy being made into a fool. You will not tell _anyone_ what happened between us. Understood?" It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Caroline wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him not to be such a dick. She wanted to let him not that he couldn't treat her like that. But the words she wanted to say were lost as embarrassment and shame crushed over her.

"Fine," she snapped. "Consider it forgotten," with that she spun around and stomped out of his classroom with as much class and dignity she could.

She hurried through the hallway. She didn't stop walking until she had made it to the empty art wing. Caroline leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She didn't know why she was so upset. She had no reason to be, not really. It wasn't as if she was in love with the guy or anything. But she had thought they had a connection. Talking to him had been easy and fun. She had thought, she had hoped, that something more might happen.

Obviously nothing could or would. Ever. Not only was he her teacher now but he had also made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. His cold words and furious stare still pierced her mind. She had a feeling the image wouldn't be leaving her alone anytime soon.

**I actually have the next chapter written already so it should be up soon. But I want to get started on the chapter after that before I post it so I know I'm getting somewhere. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As always I appreciate every review, follow, favorite and simple view. It makes me smile to think that people are actually taking time out of their day to read this. So thank you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay so there are a few things I need to say before I let you read this chapter. The first thing is that it sucks. Seriously. I don't even know why I'm posting it because it's the worst thing I've written in a long time. But I wanted to get it up to get the story moving and just... yeah. So it's not that good but hopefully no one will hate it enough to never read this story again. The second thing is ust to clarify something from the last chapter. It was Stefan sitting next to Caroline in class. I know I wrote both Matt and Stefan's names but that's because it was supposed to be Matt first and then I changed it. So I hope that wasn't too confusing!**

**Thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed it means so much. You guys are seriously the best!**

The day had not gone as planned. It was as if the day had seen the plan, given it a friendly nod and run the opposite direction. After his first lesson Klaus had been too preoccupied with thoughts of Caroline to do anything worthwhile. His other classes had passed by in a blur of faceless students and he had referred to the wrong books or authors on several occasions. This had only caused him to become even more aggravated and he had blamed Caroline for all of it.

It wasn't the fact that the girl was causing him to mess up his lessons but that he was actually unable to stop thinking about her. Klaus Mikaelson was the master of his own mind. At least, that's what he had been telling himself all day.

And to make matters worse the first thing he was greeted by when he came home was the stereo blasting some abhorrent pop music.

"KOL!" Klaus shouted into the apartment.

Kol Mikaelson came out of the shower, wearing Klaus' bathrobe, with his hair dripping wet. He was wearing a proud smirk as if finding the spare-key Klaus kept above the doorframe was some sort of accomplishment.

"Hello brother."

"What are you doing here Kol?" Klaus growled. "You're getting the carpet wet," he added with an annoyed hand twitch towards the beautiful carpet his brother was ruining.

"I beg my pardon," Kol snickered but did nothing about it. Of course he didn't. He was a spoiled brat with no manners whatsoever. "Don't you have a hug for your baby bro?"

Klaus' jaw clenched and he closed his eyes. He had to fight the urge to throw his clenched fist against Kol's face. He was already in a bad mood and there was no one who pressed his buttons quite as well as Kol.

"What are you doing here Kol?" he repeated, his eyes opening to see the youngest Mikaelson brother grinning wickedly.

"I got tired of New York," he said in a bored tone. "I've realized schools not my thing," with that he and a small shrug he turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Klaus growled irritably but followed Kol into the kitchen. His brother had pulled out a juice carton from the refrigerator and was drinking straight out of it and Klaus was beginning to wonder if Kol _wanted _Klaus to lash out on him.

"What do you mean schools not your thing?" Klaus asked, his voice revealing just how impatient he was. "You don't mean to say –"

"Yes. I dropped out. I was thinking about going back to our dear motherland but since everyone seems to find this small town so charming I figured I'd pay it a visit, see what all the fuss is about."

Klaus took a deep breath. His hands clenched around the kitchen counter. He knew it had been a bad idea to come live in a place where so many of his family members resided. Rebekah was a student at the college he taught at and Elijah had his own practice in town. Luckily Finn had moved back to England after marrying Sage so that was one less Mikaelson to deal with. Of course Kol had to come join the party.

"Do mother and father know?" he asked and the question left Kol looking quite uncomfortable. At least for a moment.

"Nope," he chugged back some more juice before putting it back. "You know them. Mother would tell me I'm throwing away my life and father…" he didn't have to finish the sentence. The look the two brothers shared filled the silence that his words had left hanging between them.

"What's your plan?" Klaus asked. He was tempted to call his brother every synonym for dumb there was but for once he managed to hold it back.

"Don't have one," Kol said. "I figured I'd stay with you for a while. Ask Bekah to introduce me to her friends," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You're not staying with me," Klaus replied immediately. "Ask Elijah. Or Rebekah. Or sleep on the street," he would not have Kol sleeping on his couch. Kol was enough of a bother when he was on the other side of the continent. If he had to deal with him this close up one of them would be dead in a week's time. "And Rebekah doesn't have friends."

"I'm your brother!" Kol exclaimed with a look of mock horror on his face. "I think that means you're obligated to offer me a bed when needed."

Klaus gave his brother his best murderous glare but it only made Kol's irritating grin widen.

"Come on brother. It'll be fun. We can be each other's wingmen!"

"I don't need a wingman. And I don't need you sleeping on my couch. Call Elijah, he has plenty of room."

"Yes and he also has a stick up his arse," Kol whined. "How's that working for you, by the way? Living in the same town as the brother who hates you?" his words hit a sore spot and he knew it. Klaus didn't let it show though. He wasn't going to give Kol the satisfaction.

Before Klaus has a chance to change the subject the front door opened and a familiar voice rang out.

"Klaus!" a moment later Rebekah came strutting into the kitchen. She was carrying several shopping bags and what Klaus assumed was a rather large credit card bill. "Oh Kol, you're actually here!" Klaus glared at his sister. If she had known the devil was coming to visit at least she could have given him a warning.

"Hello sister," Kol was now eating the last apple in the fruit bowl. "What boy broke your heart this time?" he asked in amusement.

"Don't be draft Kol," Rebekah snapped but there was a faint blush on her cheeks. "I can go shopping without a reason."

"Yes but you only buy the entire store when there is one," Klaus put in earning him a dirty look from his sister.

"Alexander broke up with me," she admitted after less than a second. Holding back had never been his sister's strong point. "He said things were moving too fast," she looked at her brothers in a way that made it clear they were supposed to say how wrong he was. When none of them said anything she sighed angrily. "I just suggested we do something for our one month anniversary and he made a big deal out of nothing!"

Kol and Klaus shared a knowing look. None of them were stupid enough to argue with their sister when she was in a mood but they both knew she tended to move things along a little too quickly when it came to relationships. She fell hard and fast and it never ended well.

"Is there a reason the two of you have decided to bother me at the same time?" Klaus asked after the rather uncomfortable moment of silence.

"I just wanted to ask how your first day went!" Rebekah plopped her purchases down on the floor and took a seat on one of the stools by the counter.

"Yes Klaus, did you manage to teach the little ones how to read and write?" Kol added.

"Don't play Kol, if you weren't so busy trying to disappoint mother and father you'd be in college yourself," said Rebekah.

Klaus grimaced. He had only just managed to forget about his first day, and Caroline, with the help of their incessant nagging but now the beautiful blonde was back on his mind. Damn it.

"Fine," he said shortly, indicating that he did not want to talk about it and if they tried to he'd happily cut their tongues off.

"Just fine?" Kol teased, ignoring his silent threat. "Did you have to eat lunch on your own?"

"Don't be a prat Kol!" Rebekah lectured.

"I'm just asking," Kol shot back.

Klaus did his best to tune their bickering out and soon their voices were only backgrouns noise. He couldn't help but wonder what Caroline was doing now. He had been harsh with her, he knew that. But he had been angry! She had weaseled her way into his mind and then she had showed up in the worst place possible. He didn't want to hurt her though; he knew that, which only made him more confused. Klaus did not care about hurting people. He never had. He could barely be bothered with holding his insults among his family members.

"Klaus!" Rebekah's shrill voice brought him back to reality. "Tell Kol to stop being an arse!" Kol was grinning at whatever it was he had said to tick Rebekah off and Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Just both of you please shut up," Klaus sighed. He leaned forward and placed his face in his hands. He was in a terrible mood and his siblings were doing absolutely nothing to improve it.

"I'll go unpack my things then!" Kol jumped out of his seat. He left the kitchen before Klaus had a chance to argue and soon he was humming loudly in the living room.

This day was getting worse by the minute.

…

"And then he told me not to tell anyone. Like that wasn't obvious!" Caroline finished the story with a loud, dramatic sigh. "He was being a total douchebag about it. It's not as if he asked how old I was. _Everyone_ has a fake ID so it's not like he can judge by the alcohol. Ugh," Caroline leaned back into the couch that was currently her bed and groaned.

Elena and Bonnie were sitting next to her and nodding along with her story.

"What an asshole," Bonnie offered.

"You don't need him," Elena added.

Caroline nodded. What she really wanted to say was 'but I _want_ him' but it felt embarrassing to admit. Not only was the situation awkward and wrong but after the way he had snapped at her Caroline's self-control might as well have been non-existent if she admitted it.

"You're right," she said instead. "I'll just pretend he doesn't exist for the next two years."

Both Bonnie and Elena had suggested she change out of the class and offered to help think of an excuse but Caroline had refused. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting rid of her that easily. If he was regretting what they had done so badly he'd have to leave himself. She wasn't running.

"Do you want me to stay home tonight? We could do chick flicks and eat ice cream," Elena said.

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm… well… I was going to see Damon but…"

"It's fine," Caroline said a little more sharply than she had meant to. She couldn't help it. When Damon was involved there was no way to keep her dark desires of cutting him up into tiny pieces and feeding them to a cat at bay. Lucky for him she didn't have a cat.

"You sure?" Elena asked but Caroline could tell she was only doing it because she was supposed to. She really wanted to go on her date.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Caroline said a little more softly.

Elena gave Caroline a hug before getting up to go get ready. Caroline turned to Bonnie to find that her other friend was grimacing apologetically.

"Let me guess, you're meeting up with Jeremy tonight."

"I'm sorry! It's just we haven't been able to see each other in a while since Elena doesn't know and now that she's going out it's … I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Whatever. But I still think you should just tell her. If she can see past Damon being a total jerk she can see past you dating her brother."

Bonnie gave her a small shrug before darting up from the couch to join Elena in getting ready. Caroline sighed. So she was going to spend her night alone and wallowing. Terrific.

Half an hour later Elena had left the apartment all smiles and giggles. Caroline had to admit it was nice seeing her friend like that even if it was because of someone she disliked terribly. Ten minutes later Bonnie followed her out the door to meet up with her secret boyfriend earning several eye-rolls from Caroline.

With a groan Caroline got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. At least her friends had been nice enough to leave some ice-cram behind for her. She pulled out the carton of Ben and Jerry's and got a spoon out. She didn't bother with a bowl but stuck the spoon right into the chocolate fudgy deliciousness.

"Thank god for ice cream," she said into the empty kitchen.

"Talking to yourself, Forbes?" the not so empty kitchen replied. Katherine Gilbert was standing in the doorway, a hand on her hip and a smirk on her lips. Caroline made a gagging noise. Of course someone had to come along and make the day worse than it already was.

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" Caroline didn't wait for an answer before plopping the ice cream into her mouth.

"I'm here to see my sister. Apparently I get you instead," she didn't sound very happy about it and Caroline wasn't surprised. The two girls had never gotten along even though Katherine was her best friend's twin sister.

"No one's stopping you from leaving," Caroline replied.

"You don't want to go there Forbes," Katherine said in a bored tone before tossing Caroline an envelope. "This was at the door. I didn't know you actually had friends."

"You're the bitch no one can stand, not me," Caroline picked up the envelope. It was addressed to her. Who could be writing to her? She didn't know anyone who actually sent letters unless it was a bill and her name was written by hand.

Caroline tore the letter open. There was a single piece of paper in it folded at the middle. Caroline furrowed her brow in confusion as she unfolded the paper. Her eyes widened in shock when she read the words scrawled on it.

_Sleeping with your teacher is against the rules. Maybe he should have taught you that._

Caroline wasn't sure how long she stared at the note. It wasn't until she was forced to let out a breath she hadn't been realizing she was holding that she snapped back to reality. Quickly she crumbled it into a ball and threw it at the trashcan like it was burning her hands but her eyes remained locked on the trashcan like she was expecting it to catch on fire.

"Did someone finally tell you that your hair looks awful like that?" Katherine asked with raised eyebrows.

"I – " it wasn't usual for Caroline to be at a loss for words but it probably shouldn't have surprised her that she was. This day had been nothing but unusual. "It was nothing," she said quickly, roaming her brain for a good lie. "Just something from my mom."

"Well, your hair does look awful like that," Katherine clarified. "I'm leaving. Tell Elena I stopped by and ask her to call me. I think Jeremy's fooling around with someone and I want to know who," she didn't bother with any other goodbye but left the kitchen and Caroline. A minute or so later Caroline heard the front door open and shut.

Her eyes found the trashcan again. Slowly, Caroline got out of her seat and moved over to it. She fished the crumpled note up from where she had thrown it and flattened it.

Part of her had been hoping the words would no longer be there. But they were. Someone knew. Somehow someone knew that she and Klaus had slept with each other and she had no idea how.

More importantly, she had no idea who.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Tadaaa new chapter! Because I disliked the other chapter so much I decided to give you guys an early update. I mean it was like two days ago since the last chapter! Lots of Klaroline in this chapter and a bit more on le stalker. Now I just want to tell everyone that this stalker is going to be one of the characters in the fic so if you pay attention to everything in the chapters you might be able to figure out who it is! **

**As always thank you for reading!**

It was ridiculous, really, how nervous Caroline was. Her palms were damp and her tongue kept darting out to lick her lips like it always did when she felt this way. Her fingers kept smoothing out imagined wrinkles on the sundress she had picked out for this occasion. She had spent forever deciding on what to wear and had told herself it had nothing to do with who she was going to see. But the dress told a whole other story with the way it showed off her long legs and dipped just low enough for her cleavage to reveal itself.

Caroline wasn't fooling anyone.

She stared at the door and the Klaus Mikaelson nameplate stared back at her, daring her to do what she had come there for. Caroline felt a sudden urge to rip the thing off the door and stomp on it until it broke. She decided against the idea because no matter how tempting the idea was it wouldn't help her actual cause for being there.

"You can do it," Caroline told herself, all pep and former Cheerleader. "Just knock on the door."

She took a deep breath and let it out. Then another one. Then another. Knocking on the door turned out to be a lot easier said than done she realized. Truth to be told she wasn't even sure why she was having such a difficult time raising her fist. Part of her was actually scared that he would snap at her again. He had been pretty damn intimidating the last time they saw each other. But part of her was also way too excited to see him again and she didn't want that part to grow. She wasn't supposed to want to see him. Caroline had watched enough movies to know that the teacher student relationship only ended in catastrophes unless you had a fairy god mother there to fix everything for you.

The note she had received last night was crumpled into a ball in her hand. She had spent her entire breakfast smoothing it out until the wrinkles were barely visible anymore but on her way to the faculty building she had grown so nervous she had started playing with it again. The thought of the threatening words on the paper in her hand gave her a small doze of courage.

"Oh to hell with it," Caroline muttered. She had to get this over with. There wasn't actually a choice involved. He had to know that someone knew about them or they could both get into some serious trouble.

She quickly raised her fist and tapped it against the door three times. Caroline couldn't keep herself from begging to whatever higher power there was for him not to be in at the moment, forcing her to come back another time, but she wasn't so lucky. The door opened almost immediately.

The sight of him almost mad her gasp. The moment she saw him her sundress felt silly and her perfectly curled hair seemed childish. He looked like the epitome of perfect. His hair was slightly tousled like it had been the morning she snuck out on him and he was wearing a blue shirt that made his eyes pop in a way that should be illegal. If only those very eyes hadn't been narrowed into slits.

"What are you doing here?" his words were cold. Apparently he wasn't going to play any games or even pretend to be polite.

Caroline tried to keep her face void of any emotions but she had never been good at that. She was sure the hurt was clear across her face.

"Something… happened," she started, not sure how to best tell him. How did one explain that they were potentially being stalked? "Here," she handed him the balled up note with an apologetic grimace.

His eyebrows darted up in surprise but he took it and unfolded it. She watched his eyes scan across the paper twice, taking the words in.

"I don't know who it's from or … or how they know but I thought I should show you," she said.

To her surprise he didn't look shocked or scared. He simply folded the piece of paper in half and put it in the back of his pocket. Caroline's surprise only grew when his lips formed into a smile. Smiling wasn't a good term though. The way his lips pulled upward and his eyes gleamed only spoke of bad things. For some reason she thought of the big bad wolf in Red Riding Hood. It had been her favorite story when she was a kid but she had a feeling he had just ruined it for her.

"I understand what's going on," he said slowly.

"You do?" that was the last thing she had expected him to say. She had been preparing herself for something along the lines of a temper tantrum.

"Yes. You wrote this," the words made Caroline's jaw drop and she stared at him, not bothering to close her mouth.

"I – what – are you crazy?" she finally spat. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because Miss Forbes, you obviously do not know how to take no for an answer. You figured this little prank would get me to spend time with you, talk to you. Sadly, I see right through your little game."

Caroline stared at him. He had to be joking. She waited for his strangled smile to turn into a laugh because he was just trying to be funny or a frown when he realized this was serious and they needed to do something about it. But he did neither.

"Are you actually so arrogant that you think I would do this just to _talk _to you?" she stormed. "This is serious Kla – Mr. Mikaelson… Someone knows about us! What if they tell people?"

For a moment she thought she saw something like doubt in his eyes but it was gone so quickly she must have imagined it. He moved forward and all of the sudden he was so close she could count every freckle on his nose. Caroline swallowed. His face lowered until his lips were right next to her ear. She could feel his hot breath against her and images of the night they had spent together swam before her eyes.

_Focus Forbes!_

"I'm calling your bluff Miss Forbes," he whispered and Caroline hated herself for the way his voice sent shivers down her entire body. "You're lying."

Caroline took an abrupt step back. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and while she wanted nothing more than to give him a piece of her mind she was at a loss for words.

"You're an asshole," she finally managed to spit at him and with those words Caroline spun around and left him standing outside his office.

If he was going to be a dick about this she'd let him. _He _was the one who would lose his job if people thought he was sleeping with his student. Sure, everyone would gossip about her and call her names but they'd forget about it after a while. _He _actually had something real to lose here. Caroline could rebuild her reputation if she had to. She was just trying to be a nice person and give him a chance to stop whatever crazy person was sending her secret notes.

Well, no more of that. Caroline left the faculty building and let the door slam shut behind her. She wouldn't even look his direction from now on.

…

It had been almost two weeks since Caroline had shown up at Klaus' office and he had crushed every secret fantasy she had of the two of them reliving their wild night of passion. Since then she had done exactly what she had promised herself to and was damn proud of herself too. Caroline wasn't exactly known for her self-control but whenever she imagined his smirking face she got all the motivation she needed.

She went to each class and sat neither in the back nor the front but right in the middle. She took notes. She participated in discussions. She did her homework. But she didn't glance his way unless it was necessary.

Caroline was doing her best to avoid him at every cost. When she saw him on campus she would turn on the spot and walk the other way. If he was in the cafeteria at the same time as her she would decide she wasn't hungry and leave. She couldn't stand to be around him more than she actually had to. Bonnie and Elena kept trying to talk about it but by now they were learning not to broach the subject. Every time they did she would childishly put her fingers in her ears and hum until they sighed and stated talking about something else.

The problem was that while she could avoid him and give him the cold shoulder in class she couldn't control her mind. And her mind was the biggest problem because she couldn't get him out of it.

It was getting so bad that she was dreaming about him. In some dreams his face just loomed in the background and she would wake up thinking about him, not really sure why. She even relived the night they met a few times and woke up sweaty and aching for him. It was annoying, to say the least.

He kept drifting into her mind whether she was asleep or awake and she found herself unable to stop him from doing so. She did everything she could to get him out of her head. She went drinking with her friends. She went to dinner with Stefan and let him babble on like a little schoolgirl about some girl he was crushing on. She even went on a date with a guy named Matt but his blue eyes only made her think of another pair of blue eyes so she ended the date early pretending she had a headache.

Honestly, Klaus was ruining her social life and she was not okay with it.

Since she had tried pretty much everything else Caroline had settled on going to the library. Bonnie had checked if she had a temperature when she said that's where she was planning to spend her Saturday night and Elena had laughed in disbelief. Caroline had just rolled her eyes and given them some speech about how she was trying to take her studies seriously and all that. She was pretty sure they hadn't believed her but they had let it go quickly.

Now she was standing outside the oldest building on campus and starting to regret her decision to come here. She was all for forgetting about her gorgeous teacher but maybe studying on a Saturday night was taking things a bit too far.

Then again, the alternative was heading home and eating ice cream alone.

"Here goes nothing," she mumbled before entering the building.

She wasn't surprised at the lack of people in there. Caroline walked around until she found a completely empty section and sat down. She dumped her bag next to her and pulled out her books. Even though the semester had just started she was already way above her head with work needing to get done.

Caroline stared down at the different books and scrunched her face up in a grimace. Which subject would be least painful to start with? Caroline had only just opened up one of the thick books when an arm snatched it out up from beneath her nose.

"Hey!" she snapped and spun around in her chair to see who it was. She had to bite down on her lip to keep a surprised gasp from escaping her. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Is that really the proper way to speak to your teacher?" Klaus was flipping through the pages of the book with a smirk on his lips. After a moment he snapped it shut and let it drop on the table again.

Caroline couldn't stop her eyes from roaming all over him. She felt like a sleazy guy at a frat party but she had been avoiding him for so long she had almost managed to forget how gorgeous he was. Her dreams definitely didn't do him justice.

"What can I help you with _Mr. Mikaelson_?" she asked and did her best to make his title sound like a terrible insult. She hoped it was enough to keep him from noticing the blush on her cheeks.

His lips twitched slightly but he stopped himself before the smirk had time to turn into a real smile.

"That's better," he said and before she had a time to argue – not that she would have, because she was weak like that – he plopped down on the chair next to hers.

"Seriously though, what do you want?" she asked. She was trying hard not to hyperventilate from his close proximity. Stupid hormones.

Klaus took his time to answer the question. He seemed oddly conflicted, for some reason.

"I don't know," he finally said and he looked genuinely surprised at his own words.

This was the perfect chance, Caroline realized. She could show him exactly how cool and collected she was by asking him to please leave her the fuck alone. Maybe those words weren't the best way to phrase it if she wanted to go for sophisticated and grown up but as long as he got the message.

She opened her mouth to do so but the words got caught in her throat. She didn't want him to leave, she realized.

"Well since you're here you might as well make yourself useful," she found herself saying instead. She pushed the book she had been reading before he took it towards him. "Page 233," she demanded.

His eyebrows shot up and the smirk widened.

"What makes you think you can tell me what to do?"

"The way I remember it you like it," the words were out before she had a chance to even regret thinking them. Her face turned an even deeper shade of red and she diverted her eyes immediately. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about those things. She definitely wasn't supposed to talk to him about it.

Silence pressed over them so thick Caroline could barely breathe. Finally she dared to look at him again. She couldn't for her life tell what he was thinking. His eyes were clouded with emotions and she was trying to pick them all apart when he spoke.

"That's _definitely _not a proper way to speak to your teacher," he said darkly but his accent made the whole thing sound so god damn sexy.

Caroline gulped. What was wrong with her? He had been nothing but an asshole to her since he found out she was a student and she was still fighting the urge to rip his clothes off whenever she was around him. Seriously. There had to be something wrong with her. Maybe she ought to see a doctor about it.

"Sorry," she muttered, embarrassed. "Didn't mean to bring that up."

"Are you sure? Because I think that's exactly what you meant to do," he hadn't raised his voice and it wasn't a dangerous whisper against her ear but the words still stung.

"Well I'm sorry that I can't just magically forget that we had sex!" she said a lout louder than what was probably a good idea. His head whipped around to make sure no one had heard her but right now she didn't care. "You know what? You're the one who came here. I've been going out of my way to avoid you since you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me and –"

"I never said that," he interrupted her.

"What?"

"I never said I wanted nothing to do with you."

Blue, strangely sincere eyes met shocked green ones. Caroline didn't know what to say. The look on his face was so different from the arrogant, self-assured one he'd been sporting every day since she had met him. He looked confused.

"Well you were still a jerk," she huffed and the ghost of a smile graced across his lips. Oh why did he have to be such a good looking jerk? Things would have been a lot easier if his eyes weren't so blue and his lips so full and his accent so British.

"That's a keen observation," he snickered.

Caroline rolled her eyes but she couldn't keep a smile off her lips. For some reason that seemed to be a side-effect of being around him. That and the racing pulse and hormones gone wild.

"Don't you have something better to do than hang around in the library on a Saturday night?" she finally managed to get out.

"I could ask you the same question," he shot back quickly.

"I'm a student. I tried sleeping with the teacher but it didn't work so now I'm studying," she knew she wasn't supposed to say that but again it just slipped out. To her surprise he just grinned.

"That's a pity. Good plan though," he said.

"Yeah, I thought so too. Until it failed."

They stared at each other, both grinning, and for a second Caroline was sure she saw his face move forward just a fraction of an inch but a voice interrupted whatever it was that might have been happening.

"Caroline," Stefan's familiar voice said. "And – Mr. Mikaelson," his voice turned confused but in typical Stefan manner remained completely polite.

The moment – whatever it had been – was broken and Caroline had never wanted to punch her friend so badly. And people said she had bad timing!

"Hey Stefan," she greeted him. "I was doing homework and I decided to bother Mr. Mikaelson for help," she lied. Her tongue nervously traced her bottom lip. She hated lying. Mostly because she was horrible at it.

"I didn't know we had any English homework," Stefan said. Of course he would know. She had forgotten that his GPA was high enough to break through the roof of this place.

"I've dabbled in a few other subjects," Klaus offered before she had a chance to think of another crappy lie. "Art is one of my passions, actually," he held up the book Caroline had been asking him to read out of with a smile.

She tried not to let the surprise she felt show but wasn't sure she did such a good job of it. Caroline wouldn't have pictured Klaus with a passion for anything other than reading Dickens and skinning children if they got to close. It seemed like everything he did he did to surprise her.

"I didn't mean to bother you Care but I saw you and thought maybe you'd like to get some coffee? But if you're busy…" he was beginning to back away and Caroline was going to let him but Klaus shook his head and stood up.

"No need, Mr. Salvatore," Caroline stared at him, willing him to look at her. "I actually just came by to borrow a book," he gave both of them a short nod, without meeting Caroline's searching gaze, and walked away.

The wave of disappointment that washed over her was way out of line.

"So, coffee?" Stefan grinned at her.

"Yeah, coffee sounds good," she smiled back.

Caroline gathered up her things, all of the sudden in a hurry to get out of there. They had made it to the doors when Stefan stopped.

"I just remembered! I forgot my jacket. I'll be outside in a minute."

Caroline just nodded and stepped outside. All she could think about was Klaus. She had thought he was going to kiss her back there. It was a stupid thought, of course. Even if Stefan hadn't come and interrupted them there was no way he would have kissed her in the library. There were too many prying eyes. There probably was no chance of him kissing her even if there hadn't been. He had given her no good reason for his blatant mood swing but she had accepted it gladly. For all she knew he was just in desperate need of some company and decided she would have to do at the moment.

Caroline sighed and leaned back against the cold stone wall. Maybe coffee would get her mind off of it.

…

When Klaus returned home to his thankfully empty apartment (he had been happy to see that having Kol living with him wasn't as horrible as he had thought it would be. Kol would still be asleep when Klaus left the apartment and by the time he got back he would be out doing God knows what resulting in them barely seeing each other) his mind was still clouded with thoughts and images of Caroline.

He detested that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He was well aware that she had been avoiding him since their little spat in his office and had been thankful for that. He knew that if she wasn't going out of her way not to see him he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from talking to her.

Obviously that had gone to hell now anyways. When he saw her sitting at the library all by herself he hadn't been able to miss out on the opportunity. He had to talk to her.

Klaus wasn't sure where the strange but powerful desire to be around her came from. He barely knew the girl yet he felt like his day was a waste if he didn't at least catch sight of her running the opposite direction from where he was coming. She was beautiful, strong and full of light. He had been able to tell that much from the short time they had spent together and he was desperate to find out more.

And now she was with that _boy_. Klaus spent more time than he should watching them in class. Stefan's hand was always brushing over hers or lingering too long on her shoulder. He wondered whether Stefan would offer to walk Caroline home at the end of the night. The thought and what it might lead to made him want to punch a hole through the wall.

His growing infatuation with Caroline was one thing but these feelings of jealousy crashing through were just uncomfortable.

Klaus sat down on the mess that was now his couch. He couldn't even be bothered to get angry at Kol for leaving it in such a state.

Maybe some reading would take his mind off the blonde.

Klaus opened up the book he had gotten from the library and a piece of paper fluttered out of it. His brows furrowed and he caught it in the air. He recognized the paper from being out of an ordinary college notebook and unfolded it quickly.

_Is she worth losing everything for? Consider that a threat._

…

After coffee with Stefan Caroline had managed to lose the little study motivation she had and decided to head home. Elena and Bonnie were both out which meant she wouldn't have to deal with their curious questions. She had barely made it inside when there was a knock on the door. With a confused glance at the watch Caroline wondered who it could be. She didn't have time to think it over before there was another quick rap against the door.

"Coming!" she shouted and hurried into the hallway. She unlocked the door only to find Klaus standing there with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Caroline didn't have time to think of any possible reasons for him being there before he shoved himself past her into the apartment.

"You were right," he said and she could note a tone of panic in his voice. "Someone knows."

He didn't give her time to ask questions before he shoved the note into her hand. She quickly unfolded it and read the words. Caroline felt her body tense and her eyes met his. They were filled with the same look she was sure was plastered across her face.

"What are we going to do?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N So this chapter is not something I'm proud of. It's... I don't know. It's short with a lot of things happening and just sort of... not good. Idk. I just... yeah. No. I'm terribly sorry about that and the fact that I feel like each chapter I write for this story keeps getting worse. I also want to point out that you might find A LOT of similarities between this chapter and a few different pll episodes. I don't want to spoil which scenes before you read the chapter but yes I have gotten a lot of inspiration from that TV show.**

**So yeah. Happy reading!**

"Well do you have any enemies? No offense but you have a bit of an attitude problem I'm sure there's a psychopath out there that wants to ruin your life."

"I do not have an attitude problem."

"And a serious case of denial if you can't even admit that."

"That is beside the point –"

"See! You can't even talk about it without changing the subject."

"You're the one changing the subject sweetheart. Aren't we supposed to be discussing who this person might be?"

"Right. So, any other theories?"

Caroline and Klaus had spent the better part of their day sitting in Klaus' kitchen trying to make sense of their little situation. After coming up with absolutely nothing Caroline had decided they ought to take a break and made some coffee for them. She rummaged through every cabin and drawer in his kitchen, looking for something sweet to eat but found nothing and gave him the 'I-can't-believe-you-don't-have-an-emergency-ice-cream-carton-and-at-least-ten-kit-kat-bars-hidden-in-your-kitchen" which caused Klaus to laugh at her for about five minutes which in turn made Caroline chase him around the kitchen with a frying pan.

Now Caroline was propped on the kitchen counter and Klaus was leaning back against the kitchen island. Once again they were trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.

"None," Klaus admitted with a bit of difficulty. Caroline had quickly learned that Klaus did not enjoy being wrong or not able to answer every question thrown at him.

"Well let's go through the facts again," Caroline decided even though they had already done so a thousand times. It felt better to say something instead of silently wondering. "This person knows that we've…. You know, done it. They also know that we saw each other at the library. That means that they were probably in the bar when we met and at the library that night. It's probably someone that one of us knows but we can't be sure of it. And... That's it."

Caroline swung her legs back and forth in an impatient manner as the two of them mulled over it again.

"And you're certain that – "

"Elena and Bonnie would never do anything like that," Caroline quickly said before he had time to finish his sentence. "It's not them."

Klaus had interrogated her until she cracked and admitted that she had told Elena and Bonnie that she had slept with her teacher. At first Klaus had been furious with her but she had been able to calm him down after promising that they would never tell a soul and there was no way they were behind these notes. Apparently he hadn't let go of the idea just yet.

"They are the only ones who know. Who else could it be?" he pushed.

"It's not them!" Caroline said sharply. "I know them. They're my best friends."

Klaus gave her a look that clearly told her he did not think that was a good enough reason to cross them off the psychopath list but Caroline stared back with just as much determination. She was one hundred percent sure that Elena and Bonnie would never do anything like that. For one thing, they weren't crazy.

"How about that friend of yours from the library?" Klaus asked. Caroline's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Stefan Salvatore," he added darkly.

Caroline actually laughed at his accusation this time. Caroline and Stefan had met in freshman year and been friends since. The only thing that had ever threatened to break their bond was that his older brother was the king of all douchebags but Caroline had long since decided to forgive him for the fact that he shared the same last name as Damon.

"No way," Caroline said. "Stefan is the nicest guy in the world. If he was stuck on an island without food and the only thing to eat were squirrels he'd probably refuse because he'd feel sorry for them."

Apparently her argument wasn't working this time either.

"He was at the library and interrupted us while talking. You even mentioned us sleeping together!"

"Yes but I got the note about that _before _that," Caroline shot back. "It's not Stefan."

"I'm not convinced."

"Why are you pointing your fingers at all of my friends? You're the one with an attitude problem, remember? It's probably some psychopath ex-girlfriend of yours who is jealous," Caroline said.

Klaus glared darkly at her but Caroline simply shrugged. There was no way to deny that the hours they had spent together had left Caroline feeling incredibly comfortable around him; more so than she probably should. Their conversation flowed just as easily as their banter and even though what they were discussing was not very light he still managed to make her laugh.

"I don't have any psychopath ex-girlfriends," Klaus said. "And I do not have an attitude problem."

They fall into silence once more. It seemed that no matter how many times they discussed the problem and pointed out the facts they could not get anywhere with it. The only thing they knew was that someone out there was aware of what they were doing and was willing to use it against them. The thought made Caroline shudder.

As much as she joked around about it Caroline was scared. The note Klaus had gotten had pretty much spelled it out that they were threatening them. Whatever they had gotten themselves into it wasn't a game. And Caroline had always been a sour loser.

She knew what they had to do. They were nowhere close to figure out who the person behind this was and that meant only one thing. But while she understood what she had to do and why that didn't mean she liked it.

"I guess there's only one thing we can do," Caroline sad sadly. "We have to stop seeing each other."

Her eyes flickered to his but only for the briefest of moments. Klaus wasn't her boyfriend or even close to that. He was her teacher and someone she had a very confusing and inappropriate relationship with. The thought of not seeing him should not be as difficult as it was.

"You're in my class; we can't just stop seeing each other."

"You know what I mean," Caroline mumbled. "Whatever this is, it has to stop. We can't risk it."

This time when he caught her eye she didn't look away. Caroline stared straight back into his piercing blue eyes and had to keep herself from sighing wistfully. She tried to remind herself that she wasn't giving up on anything other than a stupid crush that would have ended badly no matter how they went with it. The thought didn't do much to brighten her mood.

"I suppose you're right," Klaus finally said. The words made her feel even worse.

_What were you expecting? _A small voice in the back of her head snickered. He wasn't going to fight for her. He wasn't going to get up on a white horse and ask her to ride off into the sunset with him. Whatever they were giving up on wasn't even _something _yet. Of course that didn't stop her from wishing he had pulled her close and kissed her, telling her he couldn't imagine living a life without her.

She had a flare for the dramatics.

"Well then, I guess I'll just… see you in class," Caroline jumped off the counter with a forced smile. It felt as if her cheeks would cramp up and stay in that position forever if she didn't get out of there soon. She raised her hand in an awkward half-wave. "Bye."

With that Caroline left the apartment and a stone-faced Klaus behind.

**…**

The rain was pouring down and the wind was threatening to rip Caroline's dress right off her body.

It had only been a day since she and Klaus had decided to end things and things were not looking up. Sure no one had put a creepy note in her mail box but the weather was terrible and she had managed to wear the worst outfit possible to go with it. Not to mention the broken umbrella that was doing an awful job of protecting her from the rain.

"Oh to hell with it!" Caroline exclaimed, earning a few curious glances from the people hurrying past her on the street. She marched over to the closest trashcan and pushed the umbrella in to it with as much force as she could.

Caroline felt like crying. She was drenched and it was only about to get worse and she still had to get back to the apartment. And on top of that she kept replaying the day she had spent with Klaus. It was stupid and she knew it. She should be happy that he was gone from his life. He had been an asshole half the time they had spent together and he still hadn't growled for her forgiveness for that. But she wasn't happy about it. She was anything but, actually.

With a loud and irritated sigh she began marching forward as quickly as she could. She wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to shield herself from the cold wind but it didn't do much. Why not make everything even better by getting phenomena, right?

She continued walking but stopped for a moment when she heard steps behind her. When she turned around to see who was there she found that the street behind her was empty. Caroline continued to walk. When she heard the slushing sound of shoes against the wet pavement she turned her head around again. But to her confusion she realized that no one was there.

Caroline was starting to feel uneasy. She was certain she had heard steps behind her. Her pace quickened and she rounded a corner. But the uneasy feeling wasn't going away. She couldn't shake the feeling that eyes were burning into her back and – Caroline came to an abrupt stop and whipped around.

Someone had been walking behind her. Just as she turned around a figure had darted onto the next street. Her heart hammered against her chest so hard she was beginning to wonder if it would break through soon.

"Caroline!" Caroline literally jumped into the air at the sound of her name. "Caroline!" she turned around, confused and scared. Almost everyone on the street had either taken refuge in a shop or hurried away. Her eyes searched for the person calling her name. "Over here!"

Klaus was standing across the street with an umbrella over his head. Her mouth opened to form a small 'o' as she watched him hurry across the street to reach her. She had no idea what he was doing but she couldn't find it in herself to move.

"You're drenched love," his voice sent shivers down her spine and he moved close so she could stand underneath his umbrella as well. "What are you doing out in this weather? You'll get sick!"

His words brought a small giggle from Caroline which made him frown. She couldn't help herself. He sounded like a concerned hen mother.

"My umbrella broke," she explained.

For a moment they stood still with their eyes locked and small smiles on both of their lips.

"What happened to staying away?" Caroline finally asked.

"I couldn't," Klaus admitted and his grin widened. "I fancy you Caroline."

It was impossible to tell who leaned forward first or whose lips brushed against the others. All of the sudden they were kissing and both of them were smiling against each other's lips. Caroline wrapped her hands around his neck to bring herself closer to him. All thoughts about someone following her had been wiped from her head the moment she saw him.

The moment they broke away from each other Caroline caught her lower lip between her teeth nervously. This was too good to be true, she realized. She was being kissed in the rain by her star-crossed lover who happened to have a British accent. Her life had turned into a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston in less than five minutes.

"But the note –" she started but Klaus' lips against hers interrupted her.

"I don't care," Klaus said when he broke away for the second time. "I can't stop thinking about you. You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light."

The words that had been on Caroline's tongue – words of caution and but's – were choked back. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. She quickly realized that no one had ever looked at her that way either. His eyes shone with such admiration and desire it made Caroline's legs weak.

"You barely know me," she managed to whisper. "I'm just Caroline. I'm not really that great."

"Trust me, you are."

And that's when she stopped arguing. That's when Caroline smiled up at him and let him wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace. That's when she silently marveled at the fact that someone was actually choosing her first.

Not just someone. Klaus.

**…**

Their kiss had been over the line. Those hand-written notes should have done the job and made them keep away from each other. _Why weren't they doing what they were supposed to?_

Books crashed to the ground. Stocks of papers were ripped into pieces and strewn across the floor. With malice sparkling in their eyes they ripped the office apart piece by piece until the only thing left was complete and utter chaos.

It was a warning. If they didn't start listening that's exactly what their lives would look like.


	7. Chapter 7

"And that's concludes our work on Homer. Don't forget that exams are coming up and if some of you do not improve your writing until then I'll consider quitting my job. That's it for today."

The room was filled with he noises of scraping chairs against the floor and students talking to each other as they fled the room. One half of the students were laughing at their teachers comment while the other half was beginning to freak out. Mr. Mikaelson had turned out to be a lot more than British eye-candy and the students of his English literature class had quickly realized that.

He was a harsh grader with no time for bullshit.

Caroline dragged the minutes out while getting ready to leave. She picked up the books from her desk in what was practically slow motion and put them into her bag even slower. She then proceeded to drop her pen about ten times before finally picking it up and stuffing it in the bag with the rest of her belongings. By the time she was done she was the only student in the classroom. Even Stefan had left to go meet with this mysterious girl he was spending all his time with.

Klaus was standing with his back against her and completely focused on erasing the charcoal words on the board in front of him. A smile tugged at Caroline's lip at the sight. She adored how old fashioned he was with his teaching. Sure, sometimes it was a pain in the ass since it meant she couldn't just download a pdf file online when she spent the whole class staring at his perfect face instead of listening to what he was saying. But it was unbelievably cute so she let that go.

Caroline got out of her seat and smoothed out the tan colored gather skirt she was wearing. She had paired it with a white top that was dangerously low for an English class and put a pink jean jacket on top of it to tone down the 'hello!' her breasts were screaming.

It had not gone unnoticed that Caroline had started dressing up for class. Caroline hadn't told Elena and Bonnie that she and Klaus were now in what could be considered a relationship only they hadn't said that particular word out loud yet. She knew Bonnie would scold her for not being a strong independent woman sticking up to the guy she had proclaimed the biggest asshole in the world. Elena would, in typical Elena fashion, try to be supportive but there was no way she would get it. She was too moralistic.

So whenever her best friends asked why she was wearing a particular leg show off dress or a low-necked shirt she would just shrug and mumble something about wanting to look her best every day.

Luckily the only close friend she had in her class was Stefan and since he was a guy he didn't pay much attention to her clothes.

Caroline silently moved down to the front of the classroom. She didn't make a sound until she was standing right behind Klaus. She was just about to clear her throat when he turned around with a large grin on his face, showing off his dimples.

"Hi," was all Caroline could manage.

For some reason she always got tongue tided when she saw Klaus. She wasn't sure whether it was because of his blue eyes or his full lips or the dimples. Or the fact that his piercing gaze sent shivers down her body and made her imagination run in very R rated directions.

"Hello love," Klaus replied huskily after his eyes had scanned the room to make sure that they were, in fact, alone.

"I'm pretty sure you managed to scare the entire class into a study session," Caroline grinned.

"Let's hope so," Klaus said dryly. "I had to torture myself through twenty-four essays whereof less than five of them were decent."

Caroline rolled her eyes and kept herself from asking if hers had been one of the five. She had spent hours working on it but didn't want to grovel at his feet for an answer to that. She hadn't actually stayed after class to talk about schoolwork.

"You're evil Mr. Mikaelson," she teased.

"You have no idea."

There was a tension in the room that hadn't been there a second ago. Caroline could practically feel the electricity sizzle between the two of them. She felt his eyes rake across her body and stop where her breasts were revealing themselves. A small smile made its way to her lips when she realized the shirt had done what it was supposed to.

"Are you checking me out?" she asked with a mock gasp of horror. "That is so not appropriate."

"Neither is this," Klaus growled before sneaking an arm around her waist so he could pull her closer.

Her body crashed against his at the same time his lips met hers. Caroline didn't protest for a second but quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. His soft lips nibbled and sucked on her lower lip 'til the point where Caroline could no longer hold back a moan. The moment her mouth opened to form the sound his tongue took the chance to push into her mouth.

Caroline pulled herself closer so that her breasts were pushing up against his hard chest. Their tongues danced around each other and she wound her hands into his curls.

His hands snuck up behind her skirt to caress her soft skin. His fingers duck into her back to bring her even closer to him. With something akin to a wolfish growl Klaus turned her around so quickly she gasped and lifted her off her feet only to place her on his desk.

Once the initial shock of being picked up like she weighed nothing had worn off Caroline grinned against his lips and wrapped her legs around his waist. The throaty groan that left him made her grin even wider.

Klaus' lips left hers to trail hot, wet kisses down her neck. He didn't stop until his lips were pressed firmly against the curve of her breasts were he began to suck mercilessly. Caroline bit her lip to keep a moan from escaping because she was pretty damn sure it would be heard throughout the whole school.

Caroline wrapped her fingers tightly into his curl and pulled him back up so that she could crash her lips against his once again. Their lips moved tirelessly and effortlessly against each other and their tongues fought for dominance.

One of the hands Klaus had kept around her waist trailed around to her front. His fingers danced dangerously across the spot of skin revealed between her shirt and skirt. Torturously slow his hand began to move upwards on the inside of the shirt before it finally found her right breast and cupped it.

Klaus swallowed the moan from her mouth with his own and began to knead her breast with expertise. He quickly slipped his hand inside her bra and his fingers began to play with her nipple. He circled the nipple with his fingers until it was hard. When he was pleased with the result he squeezed it lightly between two fingers before flicking it, earning a strangled sound from the bottom of her throat.

Caroline could feel his hard length pushing against her and she ground herself against it. His hands switched to the other breast and gave it the exact same treatment as he had with the right one while his lips trailed open mouth kisses across her jaw.

Wanting to get back on top of the game Caroline squeezed her legs tighter around his waist and pushed herself against the hard contour of his dick.

"Fuck," Klaus breathed against her skin. His lips had made their way to the very bottom of her throat and his teeth nibbled playfully against her skin. "I _need_ you Caroline," he mumbled and his voice was dripping with such desire Caroline felt herself grow weak.

She unknotted one of her hands from his hair and teasingly trailed it down his perfectly sculpted chest before stopping right at the waistband of his jeans. He groaned impatiently against her skin and Caroline dipped her hand even lower with a grin on her face. Her hand cupped his hardness from the outside at the same moment his hand reached up between her legs.

Klaus' fingers teased her by rubbing gently against her through her underwear. Caroline returned the favor with a squeeze but she wasn't sure if it was to please him or just because she needed something to hold on to. She knew he could feel the wetness through her lace underwear and a faint blush crept to onto her cheeks.

Once again their mouths found each other. His fingers continued their merciless torture for a while before his thumb found her clit over her underwear. Caroline moaned into his mouth and she could feel the smirk on his lips as he massaged her most sensitive point with his thumb.

Quickly Caroline slipped her hand into his pants past the waistband. Her hand ran across his hard length which brought out a dark growl from the very bottom of his throat. Her hands wrapped around his dick when –

The two of them jumped away from each other at the speed of light. They had both heard the door opening. Caroline more or less fell off the desk and quickly turned around so that the person who had just entered wouldn't see her flushed face. She pulled the jean jacket closer so that her cleavage wouldn't show as much and ran a hand through her golden locks to fix the mess it had become.

"Nik I – oh I'm sorry," a female voice with the same accent Klaus had said.

Caroline took a deep breath to steady herself. She turned around to face the newcomer with a smile plastered on her face and was surprised to find a pretty blonde standing there. The girl had to be Caroline's age and had a battered book in one arm and a shiny Louis Vuitton bag in the other. Caroline's eyes immediacy narrowed and she bit her lip to keep a petty insult from escaping.

"No worries Bekah, we were just finished," Klaus said smoothly. While Caroline was sure she looked like she had just been fucked from Mars to Venus Klaus might as well have stepped out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. "Miss Forbes, are you clear on the essay now?" his voice was perfectly indifferent and his eyes barely met hers when he asked the question.

"Yes," Caroline squealed. "Thank you for your time Mr. Mikaelson," she mumbled and quickly left the room.

The moment the door shut behind Caroline Klaus turned to face his sister. He couldn't quite keep the anger out of his glare but tried his best to seem completely indifferent to the situation.

"What can I help you with, sister?" Klaus asked. He leaned back against his desk and tried not to picture Caroline's perfect ass on top of it.

"Who was she?" Rebekah asked, completely ignoring Caroline's question. He could see the suspicion mixed with envy in her eyes. Rebekah had never liked when anyone paid attention to someone other than herself and that included her brothers.

"A student," Klaus replied easily but he could tell his younger sister wasn't fooled that easily. "She has a bit of a crush on me," he added with a perfectly practiced eye-roll.

Rebekah's eyes were still narrowed into slits but after a moment she shook her head and smiled slightly.

"I read your schedule wrong; I thought your class just ended. I was hoping to meet up with a friend," she said with a smile way too pleased.

Klaus' eyebrows rose at his sisters words.

"Since when do you have friends?" he asked which earned him a glare and a slap across the back of his head.

"Shut your mouth Nik," she snapped. "I better get going. I'll see you later," she tossed her blonde hair across her shoulder and turned to leave. Rebekah's hand was already resting on the doorknob when she looked at Klaus again. "Be careful Niklaus. Don't let another girl ruin you."

**…**

Caroline was still heavy with desire and flushed from what they had been doing when she left the building. Her mind was so wrapped around what had been going on that she didn't see where she was going and managed to walk straight into someone. A pair of arms wrapped around her before she had time to fall to the ground.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed in embarrassment. "I wasn't looking and –" her sentence fell short when she looked up to see whom she had rudely walked into. The moment she recognized the person she wished she had walked into him with a knife instead. "Damon."

"Hello Blondie," Damon greeted her with his signature smirk. The moment he let go of her Caroline took a quick step backwards. "Long time no see. Have you been avoiding me?" he teased, his eyes doing that annoying twinkling thing that used to set her heart on fire.

Caroline huffed irritably and crossed her arms. Whenever she was around Damon she instinctively did whatever she could to shield herself from him.

"What do you want, Damon?" she asked, putting as much venom as she could into his name.

"I want a lot of things. World peace, food for the poor… for you to stop meddling in my relationship with Elena," his smirk was still teasing but his eyes told an entirely different story. Caroline gulped.

"I don't think that's gonna happen. The Middle East Situation just gets worse every day," Caroline told him.

"Don't play stupid Blondie, it's not a good look on you," Damon shot back and took a step closer to her.

Caroline made a movement to walk past him but he quickly shifted his weight so that he was blocking her way.

"Get out of my way Damon," Caroline growled. "I don't have time for you."

"That's too bad because I really need to talk to you," Damon said. "Look, Elena really wants you to get on board with our relationship. I don't get why she values your opinion so much but she does so if you could just give us your blessing then I'll let you get on to whatever Barbie business you've got."

Caroline bit her bottom lip. Her teeth pierced through the sensitive skin but she didn't care. All she could think about was how amazing it would feel to punch Damon as hard she could.

"You haven't earned my blessing," she spat at him. "If you stop being a narcissistic asshole with psychopath tendencies I might consider it but right now –" she didn't have time to finish her sentence before a sharp pain went through her arm. Damon had grabbed onto it and was pushing his fingers into her skin.

"I wasn't _asking_," he said quietly.

"Let go of me Damon," she tried to keep a quiver out of her voice. "I'm done being pushed around by you. Let go of me or I swear I'll –"

"You'll do what?" Damon laughed, interrupting her again.

"I'll tell Elena everything," Caroline hissed viciously.

Damon's eyes widened in fear but instead of letting go of her arm he only strengthened the grip on her arm. Caroline's eyes were beginning to tear up from the pain when someone loudly cleared their throat behind her.

"Is there a problem here?" Klaus' familiar voice rang out.

Damon let go of her arm and Caroline pulled it back at once. She took another step away from him.

"No problem," Damon said convincingly. "Just two old friends, catching up."

Caroline looked over at Klaus and almost wished she hadn't. His eyes were burning with a fury she had never seen before and his hands were clenched into fists at his side. Somehow she could tell that he was only seconds away from crushing Damon's jaw.

"Really? It didn't look that way to me," he hissed dangerously and it seemed as if Damon was catching on to the situation. His eyes took in Klaus' defensive position and the anger on his face before taking a careful step back.

"Really," he said.

"It's fine," Caroline said quickly. "Just go Damon," she added with a look that could burn holes in her ex-boyfriends direction.

"Sure thing," Damon said. In one swift movement he was by Caroline's side and his lips were at her ear. "But you better keep your pretty little lips shut," he whispered threateningly.

Caroline was about to push him away but she had no time to do so. Klaus' hand was on Damon's shoulder in less than a second and he swung him around with such force Damon stumbled backwards.

"Get out of here," Klaus said. "Now."

Apparently Damon was able to stop acting like a cocky asshole for a second and realize he better do as he was told. He gave Caroline one last glaring look before turning and walking away.

The moment his back was turned to them Caroline breathed out in relief.

"Are you alright?" Klaus' voice was filled with concern but she could still hear traces of anger in it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," was Caroline's immediate response.

He stared at her, his eyebrows furrowed, and she could tell he didn't believe her. Caroline attempted to smile but it didn't work very well.

"Damon's just… an ex-boyfriend. We didn't end on very good terms," she explained aloofly.

"What did he do?" Klaus asked and his voice was all fury again.

Caroline was about to tell him the usual lie she went with but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do so. She had never told anyone the real reason why Caroline and Damon's relationship had ended and she longed to do so. She had always felt like none of her friends would understand.

"At first he was the perfect boyfriend. He was really sweet and made me feel so special. But after a while he started treating me… badly. He never hit me or anything like that. He just… emotionally and psychologically abused me, I guess. He told me I was worthless, shallow, stupid… he got to me to pour my heart out to him and then he would use all my insecurities against me. He made me feel like I was worth nothing. But the problem was that even though he was the one who made me feel like that he was the only person who could make me feel good about myself too. He'd tell me I was nothing but then he'd make me feel like _everything_. He pushed me to the bottom and then he pulled me up before pushing me down again… And I never told anyone. I just – I kept hoping he would hit me or try something just so I'd have a real reason to be upset. He made me feel so bad about myself but I was convinced I was the problem. So I stayed with him until one day I walked in on him with another girl. I was so happy. Finally there was a real reason to break up with him. So I dumped him. And after a while I realized that I should have done it a long time ago. Emotional abuse is just as bad as the physical kind… I actually read that in a book… So yeah, that's it."

The words had fallen from her mouth so easily. Now that she was done speaking she realized she had been waiting to – needing to – talk about it forever. It felt like she had been carrying around a weight on her shoulder that had finally dropped.

"I'll kill him," Klaus' words sent a shiver of fear through Caroline. Not because she was afraid of him but because she truly believed he meant what he was saying. His eyes were shining with hatred. "I will rip his heart from his fucking chest."

Caroline looked around. The campus was deserted. She took a quick step towards Klaus so that she was standing in front of him and placed a hand on his chest.

"It's fine. I'm fine. You don't have to do anything."

"Fine?" his voice was quiet but he might as well have been screaming. "It's not _fine _it's anything but _fine._ I'm going to fucking kill him and we'll see about _fine _after that I'll –" Klaus stopped to take a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair. Then he pulled Caroline close into a bone-crushing hug. His hands were shaking against her back as they kept her close but Caroline didn't care. She pressed her face against his chest and breathed in his scent.

"It's okay, really," Caroline said once she had pulled back from the hug. She decided not to go with the word fine again. "I mean no it's not okay and it's never going to be okay but I know he regrets it even though he's too much of a jerk to say it out loud. He usually makes an effort not to be a humongous asshole these days I guess he was just PMSing or something."

Her comment actually brought out a small smile in Klaus but it was quickly wiped away and replaced by the same furious glare he had been sporting before.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you," Klaus promised and he sounded so sincere it almost brought tears to Caroline's eyes. "_Never_."

Caroline smiled up at him.

"I know," she said. "I know."

**A/N Tadaaaam! So there's the big Damon reveal. I lovelovelove Damon's character on the show but I always think it's interesting to write about what he did to Caroline from her perspective. I decided not to go with any physical abuse though and kept it on the emotional level which, of course, is terrible as well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I definitely enjoyed writing it. It's a bit on the longer side as well which was hopefully something good!**

**I want to dedicate this chapter to Inge or Swinty81 on tumblr for making an amazing fanfic poster for PD.**


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